Town meeting voters approved a bylaw amendment tonight that would define and govern large-scale ground-mounted solar panel arrays, saying such a bylaw was necessary to protect residents.

The Planning Board, in proposing the bylaw, said it recognized that more work needed to be done to refine the bylaw, but also needed to have something in place for the many projects coming forward. The Planning Board expects to revisit the bylaw at the annual town meeting in March.

Without a bylaw, there is no protection or mitigation for residents who may be affected large solar arrays, Town Planner Jim Robbins said.

The proposed bylaw defined a large-scale, ground-mounted solar panel array as producing 250 kilowatts or covering a 1,000-square-foot area. Such arrays would only be allowed in industrial, municipal, state and adult entertainment districts. The commercial district was not included: The Planning Board said that district should be preserved for tax-earning purposes.

Selectmen, by a vote of 4-1, did not support the bylaw. The members opposed said they were not against solar power, but thought the bylaw should have taken in residential property owners, include large farm properties.

The chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Leigh Emery, said the bylaw excludes a certain group of property owners and relegates them to the jurisdiction of the Zoning Board of Appeals, and that board’s criteria are not adequate to deal with solar use.

“Overall, we feel it is better to have a zoning amendment to be fully developed and vetted than to pass one that still needs work,” Ms. Emery said.

• Voters approved bow hunting on town property to reduce the deer population. The amendment has to be reviewed by the state attorney general’s office. Bow hunting season started Monday, and bow hunting will not be allowed in town this year. Bow hunters interested in hunting on town land next year will have to apply to the Police Department. In addition, they must abide by state hunting regulations and are only allowed to hunt from a tree stand 10 feet above ground.

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